Rating: 
Summary: "A Perfectly Delightful Way To Learn"
Review: "Mental Hygiene" presents the history of Classroom films in a way that doesn't make fun of the films, but still makes enjoyable reading.
I didn't have to view these films, but my Mother does remember them and had quite a laugh when glancing through this book, as she was in school when films like 'Duck and Cover', and 'Good Grooming For Girls' were typical Classroom fare.
It's facinating to read about all of these film makers, who were, in all seriousness, trying to mold the youth of the day.
It's interesting to see that one reviewer here was a bit shocked by some of the photos from the more graphic films, such as the films that showed the symptoms of syphillis. I found them a little surprising, too. However, such pictures were being shown in Junior High and High School classrooms during the 1950's and 60's with little or no outcry from parents. I'm sure seeing those images on the screen really spooked some students and the images may have stuck into adulthood!
It is now possible to view many of the films described in this book, thanks to a collection called 'Educational Archives'. I found out about this book from a note in that line of DVDs. Just do a search here on Amazon for 'Educational Archives' and you'll find 6 DVD volumes (as of September, 2003) of films like those described in this book along with several industrial training films and religious films. More DVDs are forthcoming.
This book makes a fine companion to those DVDs and is a great history of a genre of films that has not been well documented elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: "A Perfectly Delightful Way To Learn"
Review: "Mental Hygiene" presents the history of Classroom films in a way that doesn't make fun of the films, but still makes enjoyable reading.
I didn't have to view these films, but my Mother does remember them and had quite a laugh when glancing through this book, as she was in school when films like 'Duck and Cover', and 'Good Grooming For Girls' were typical Classroom fare.
It's facinating to read about all of these film makers, who were, in all seriousness, trying to mold the youth of the day.
It's interesting to see that one reviewer here was a bit shocked by some of the photos from the more graphic films, such as the films that showed the symptoms of syphillis. I found them a little surprising, too. However, such pictures were being shown in Junior High and High School classrooms during the 1950's and 60's with little or no outcry from parents. I'm sure seeing those images on the screen really spooked some students and the images may have stuck into adulthood!
It is now possible to view many of the films described in this book, thanks to a collection called 'Educational Archives'. I found out about this book from a note in that line of DVDs. Just do a search here on Amazon for 'Educational Archives' and you'll find 6 DVD volumes (as of September, 2003) of films like those described in this book along with several industrial training films and religious films. More DVDs are forthcoming.
This book makes a fine companion to those DVDs and is a great history of a genre of films that has not been well documented elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: How Young America's Minds Were Molded
Review: An examination of short films that baby-boomers were subjected to. Engagingly written, for the most part. The alphabetical listing of fingernail descriptions in the back is particularly useful. Also provides insight into the production of industrial/instructional short films.
Rating:
Summary: Great but I wish there was more.
Review: As a connoisseur of vintage mental hygiene films, and driver's ed. scare films in particular, I found the back story about how these films got made both fascinating and engrossing. I especially enjoyed reading the story behind "Signal 30" (now widely considered to be the "Citizen Kane" of the driver's ed scare film genre). The only shortcoming of the book is that I wish there were reviews of more films. The author is upfront about not purporting to catalogue and review all such films (there are literally thousands of them) but I would have liked to see a more comprehensive treatment of the subject in order to help me track down the obscure gems still locked away in some high school janitor's broom closet. Could it be that I smell a sequel: "Mental Hygiene - Volume II???"
Rating:
Summary: Great but I wish there was more.
Review: As a connoisseur of vintage mental hygiene films, and driver's ed. scare films in particular, I found the back story about how these films got made both fascinating and engrossing. I especially enjoyed reading the story behind "Signal 30" (now widely considered to be the "Citizen Kane" of the driver's ed scare film genre). The only shortcoming of the book is that I wish there were reviews of more films. The author is upfront about not purporting to catalogue and review all such films (there are literally thousands of them) but I would have liked to see a more comprehensive treatment of the subject in order to help me track down the obscure gems still locked away in some high school janitor's broom closet. Could it be that I smell a sequel: "Mental Hygiene - Volume II???"
Rating:
Summary: Hysterically funny look at the conspiracy to twist our minds
Review: As a die-hard devotee of MST3K "shorts", I was delighted when I came across this book. While the entire book makes for good reading, my favorite part was the section listing all the classroom films, with a description of each. Here, you will read about such films as "The Cautious Twins," featuring a pair of Nordic tykes who seem to live in a town peopled only by themselves and perverts, "Boys Beware", with its warnings that "public restrooms can be a common hangout for the homosexual," and "More Dates for Kay", in which desperate, hungry-eyed Kay roams the halls of her high school using frantic ploys to get a boyfriend.In addition to warnings against sex, reckless driving, and drugs/alcohol, there are films about manners, conformity (always a good thing), growing up (i.e. menstruation!), dating, grooming, and what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Women will especially enjoy being condescended to in the films about home economics, proper behavior in the workplace (in which the goof-offs seem to be the only ones enjoying their jobs), how to be a good secretary, and the joy of appliances ("A Holiday for Mother"). There are a few pictures which may have been better left out of the book, mainly in the syphilis section ("I've got a sore--down there!"), as well as a couple shots of actual dead accident victims that the most graphic director, Sid Davis, used to shock youngsters into driving carefully. You will laugh uproariously, but what is most interesting is the commentary about WHY these films were created. The period after 1945 apparently was not the rosy "Leave It to Beaver" world we have always been led to believe, and these films were just one method to try to restore order out of the chaos of atomic bombs, coffins on wheels (cars before safety features were included), drug addiction, and failed attempts at making jelly.
Rating:
Summary: They didn't laugh
Review: As a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show that once featured many of the films discussed in 'Mental Hygiene,' I approached this book as a catalog of MST could-have-beens. Turns out it is that (especially in the thumbnail reviews of the films themselves), but it's also much more. Today, in our enlightened 'post-modern' era, it's easy to laugh at the staid and conformist world these films both illustrate and reinforce. Yet, as Ken Smith argues, the filmmakers didn't set out either to produce comedy or to crush their children's souls. 'The people responsible for these films were driven by a sincere desire to guide young people toward behavior that they felt would make them happy. It's no fun to be lonely or physically unattractive. Nor is it enjoyable to be a heroin addict or have your face torn off in a car wreck' (p. 13). Moreover, 'they [the films] were made by some of the most liberal and progressive-minded people of their time. Their goal was noble: to help children become well adjusted, happy, and independent (within limits). The films look corny and manipulative to us today, but not because the people who made them were evil and stupid' (p. 30). All this to say, this book's not only entertaining, but is also an insightful sociological study of the attitudes and ideals of these films' era. The section on the genres of films is fascinating, though I also found myself nauseated by some filmmakers' practice of showing actual, bloody, mangled accident victims in some highway safety movies. That one is a particularly sobering chapter. Once that's out of the way, though, it's on to the rollicking fun as Smith deconstructs 250 or so of these films, including several recognizable to any MSTie. Here, for example, is part of his description of 'Developing Your Character,' a 1950 offering from mental-hygiene powerhouse Coronet Films: 'Joe, a squinty-eyed, perpetually smiling future politician, "likes people," Bob explains. He "wants to be friends with everybody" and is "sincere and real." Joe quickly becomes the leader of a gang of happy teens who are all slavishly devoted to his welfare. With their help, he places first in the statewide Junior Citizenship essay contest -- and wins a trip to the state capital for a week. "Actually, we all won," says Bob, exhibiting the team spirit that will make him a fine, faceless corporate drone in the years to come' (p. 137). I'm glad to have read the book, and even more thankful I never had to sit through these films in school.
Rating:
Summary: Makes a Great Gift
Review: At the dawn of the new millenium, and after September 11th, I was both shocked and appalled to find this book both incredibly fascinating and highly entertaining. It would be a faux pas not to buy this for your friends. God knows I need friends.
Rating:
Summary: Is there a video companion to this book?
Review: Can anyone tell me how to get the video with examples of these films?
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: Great subject matter for a book! I read it immediately and referred it to all my friends and some strangers. I'm eagerly awaiting Ken's next work.
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